Be Fearless
by Lyra124
Summary: Set in the battle of Hogwarts. In order to activate a protective charm, to well... protct the school, Minerva must be fearless. And she passes the advice on to the boy-who-lived to help him defeat the Dark Lord. Rated for minor cussing. NO SLASH.
1. The Beginning

_Ridiculous_. Minerva thought. _Completely, utterly, irrevocably, ridiculous. But just ridiculously brilliant enough for this to work. _She sent another curse at the masked deatheater, who missed by a few inches. In retaliation, he shot a killing curse back at Minerva who rolled to the side, and the green jet of light hit the marble pillar behind her. _Albus better be right…_ she told herself while sending another neat jinx at the offending deatheater. This time, the jinx met its mark, and the hooded figure was thrown back, and slammed hard against the opposite wall, where he crumpled and was still. Minerva inwardly smiled. _But, when, has Albus ever been wrong?_

_Okay, Minerva,_ she steeled herself, _Albus said to activate the charm in the East Wing in order to trigger the castle's self defense mechanism._ But where in the East Wing should she be looking? Merlin only knew how big it was, with a labyrinth of secret paths. Besides, Minerva didn't spend most of her time in the Eastern side of Hogwarts, in Professors Snape, Vector and Sinistra's territory. No, she stayed primarily in the West Wing, where the Transfiguration Classrooms were located. Well, that was not a main worry right now. What she should have been worrying about is the problem of activating the charm. Albus had said that the charm is activated when someone of real need and pure heart comes looking for it, of course provided said person knew the correct spell. It was ridiculous, in Minerva's opinion. Plenty of Hogwarts students, past and present, were dueling in the tower right this moment. All of them with real need. All of them with a pure heart. So how could this bloody charm NOT work? _Again, Albus,_ she thought, _some of your plans are just so bloody complicated and diverse no-one actually ever seems to know what to do._

Minerva rushed off in search of the East Wing's hallway. On her way, she passed many students fighting some of their own battles. Surprisingly, all of them were faring remarkably well. It was only when Lavender Brown, a seventh year student from her own house was felled by a badly aimed stunner, did Minerva stop her brisk walk to the East Wing and hasten to continue the duel with the deatheater.

"Oooh, lookie here. Minnie McGonagall's come to play! What d'you wanna play, Minnie? Hide and go Seek?" He taunted, as Minerva was force to duck from another killing curse with the sole purpose of ending her life. "C'mon Minnie! What's the matter? _Cat got yer tongue_?" He threw his head back and laughed. But it was not one of joy, but one of pure insanity.

"DON'T," Minerva roared, "CALL ME _MINNIE_!" Minerva flicked her wand in his direction and he was flung against the wall where his mask dropped off. _Avery,_ Minerva thought. _Hmmph, the boy never had much sense, even as a student. It would seem obvious, that when in a duel, one should never start laughing and give your opponent an opportunity to strike. _With another flick of her wand, she immobilized him and levitated him onto a torch-bracket where she hung him by his clothes. _Well, that's that._ Minerva thought and rushed off to the East Wing.


	2. Albus's Advice

"Minerva!" panted a voice to her right. Minerva spun around and found herself face to face with a gasping Albus Dumbledore, who was gripping the frame of his portrait, trying to breathe. "Minerva! I've been looking for you _everywhere_!" he paused to draw breath. "Where could you have _possibly_ gone?"

"Perhaps to help and join in the fight when a student got stunned?" Minerva suggested. "Or maybe heading to the east wing as fast as she could on _your_ orders?"

Albus grimaced. He hated it when Minerva got annoyed with him. "Sorry, Tabby." He said, and gave her his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Alright, alright. All forgiven. But what about the charm? I have absolutely no idea where to look, much less what I'm looking for, and how to activate it."

"That's where I come in, isn't it?" He asked her smiling slightly. "Come on, Tabby. Follow me." And with that he marched smartly from his frame into the one on the left of the portrait he had just been in. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

Minerva rolled her eyes.

It wasn't so easy for Minerva just to walk down the corridor as Albus was doing. For her, she had to dodge jinxes and hexes and shoot a few back as well, while for Albus, It was only the matter of walking from portrait to portrait. But he did not miss out on any action. Indeed, he was yelling advice from his frame while Minerva battled.

"I really wish I could help," he said, watching anxiously as Minerva cast multiple spells at the crowd of deatheaters. "But you seem to be faring quite well in my absence."

"Not _exceedingly_ well. But just well." She said in response. "_Incendio_!" Minerva directed her wand at the hem of the nearest deatheater's robes, which promptly caught fire. The said deatheater squealed and started to run around, knocking into at least a dozen of his fellows. One deatheater, a female one, caught hold of him and put the flames out. Then she pulled his head closer to her own and snarled a couple words Minerva couldn't quite catch, despite her being feline animagus.

The words seemed to do the trick as the male deatheater gulped audibly and turned back to Minerva, wand held at ready, standing his ground.

_Well, not for long_… Minerva thought. She raised her wand high over her head and bought it swishing down, like a whip. The two deatheater were knocked back hard. Slamming, yet again, into the opposite wall.

Albus beamed at her. "You were always good with the Impediment Jinx." Minerva laughed, despite herself. "Now, come on, Tabby. Let's go. It's best we get this spell done before midnight. And I think I know where to look."

"Really?" asked Minerva, her interest was spiked now. "Where? We don't know what the charm looks like, I presume it's cast inside an object? It's near impossible to pull the charm off, so why did you choose me? I think Fillius would be a better option, and besides," She turned to face him, hands on hips, giving him the infamous McGonagall glare. "He _is_ the _charms_ professor."

"My dear professor," He began graciously, "I chose you over Fillius because first, although he is good with charms, he is somewhat lacking in… how do the students say it? _guts_. Not that he isn't brave," He added hastily, under Minerva's stern gaze.

"Secondly, It is my belief that Godric Gryffindor had something more to do with it than any of the other founders, and therefore one in his house might be more successful than another that is not in his house. And thirdly," He looked Minerva straight in the eye, and she felt like she was being X-rayed, "I place a large amount of trust and faith in you. You can do it. I know you can."

These words put a fair amount of hope and pride back into Minerva. She turned away so Albus couldn't see the sudden tears in her eyes. "Well come on then Albus," she said, walking briskly away leaving Dumbledore to catch up, "We have a castle to save."

**OK, I know I said I'd update at the end of the week, but the reviews inspired me to write another one faster. (Even though there are only two of them) Also Procrastination from homework always does the trick. How was that? I know it's a little short, but I hope you'll like it. As always, please read, review and enjoy! Oh yeah, and 20 house-points to whoever reviews! XD,**

**-Lyra.**


	3. How to Protect your Castle

"_We have a castle to save."_

They walked the corridors; they were a formidable pair, (Well, Minerva was. Albus was just a painting, so he wasn't that scary. What _was_ scary was his wide and extensive knowledge of just about every spell known to wizard-kind. He wouldn't hesitate to call out advice to Minerva and her fellow comrades. Like: "To your left, Minerva!" or "Ms Patil! Behind you!" and "Mr Finnegan, use _Locomotor Mortis_! It's very effective!" and that sort of thing.)

But looking over all the fighting going on, Minerva and Albus reached the entrance to the east wing relatively quickly.

"Minerva, look for the stones," Albus was saying as they walked there.

"Stones?" Minerva asked. "Is this some sort of a joke to you, Albus? The whole bloody castle is made _entirely_ out of stone!"

"Certainly not, Minerva," Albus huffed, looking highly affronted. "I mean there are four stones to locate. One for each founder. An Emerald, for Slytherin, a sapphire for Ravenclaw, a Ruby for Gryffindor and Amber for Hufflepuff. Each is said to have cryptic power, representing the four houses respectively. When joined together, the wielder has the power to trigger the self protection charm. It was designed so that the founders could set it off if the castle was under a siege. Only the founders know where their own stone resides."

"Alright. Say, if we had all the stones together then the charm sets off immediately?" Minerva asked. "Instantaneous power?"

"Not Exactly. The gems will be connected, then one true of heart with much bravery, one with much intelligence and logic, one with much cunning and one that is very loyal will come together and say the spell which will set the stones off."

"Is that it? Or is there something else that I need to know?"

"Yes. There will be many obstacles to reach the stones. Merlin knows the founders guarded theirs most viciously." Albus paused, looking into Minerva's eyes once again, making her squirm inside (not that she'd ever show fear or discomfort to anyone, not even Albus.) Emerald bored into Sapphire, Sapphire winning eventually after a long moment of starring. Emerald eyes averted, and looked apprehensively at the gilded wooden door in front of her.

"But Albus, You said we would need _four_ people to activate the spell. In case you haven't noticed, there's only _one_ of me."

"Oh, Minerva," He smiled. "Your three companions will come, they're just a little late. Have some patience."

Minerva ground her teeth. She had been unbelievably patient all this night. She couldn't put up with _this_ now. How could her… companions… be late? Being late seemed such a trivial thing at this point; Minerva could scarcely believe that people could afford be it.

She put her hand on the intricately wrought door-knob.

"Minerva, one last thing," Minerva looked up into Albus's painted eyes. Although they were only oil on canvas, she could see the concern, fear and a mix of hundreds more emotions swirling around in their crystal-blue depths. "When the four champions unite the crystals, each of them will pass judgment upon each individual. Should the stones deem you worthy, the spell will work and you will remain unscathed. Should they not, the consequences would be most undesirable."

"Thank you, Albus. Thank you for telling me everything." Albus could hear the mellow in her voice clearly. She reached for the knob, twisted it, and pulled the heavy double doors open. What lay behind them, were hidden in darkness.

"I'm afraid it's time for me to take my leave to now." Minerva turned to face Albus. He would not be going with her? She could only be strong if he was next to her, fighting next to her, resisting next to her, but always, solidly, there. Albus saw the dark look that spread across her face that was dispelled almost instantly, but not fast enough so he didn't catch it. "Tabby, it's going to be all right. Have faith in yourself, I do. Remember what I've told you. Remember what I've always told you. And Minerva-" He smiled warmly at her, his own hope and courage seeping into her slightly, making her smile a bit. "Be Fearless."

And with that he was gone. Minerva felt the air grow colder slightly, as though the warmth in the corridor had left with Albus.

But that was not true. There was a little flame in Minerva's chest that flickered, but never went out. Resisting the cold wind of the corridor and burned merrily on. Hope. It would never burn out. Never, until her dying breath, Minerva vowed silently.

And on that happy thought, Minerva McGonagall turned away from all known lands and the corridor outside the east wing and stepped into the darkness of new uncharted lands.

**OK! New chapter! And this so far was the hardest to write. Thank you to everybody who Reviewed, Subscribed or Added this story to their favorites list. You have no idea how much this means to me. I hope you like this, and as always, Read, Review and Enjoy! And while we're on this subject, I forgot to mention, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Nothing! If I did, I'd have graduated by now, and be lounging in a new library filled with books and writing the new Harry Potter. But alas, I do not.**

**-Lyra**


	4. Harry, Ron and Hermione

"_Lumos._" Minerva whispered. The tip of her wand burst into light, blinding her momentarily. Soon enough, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could barely make out to doors. One led to the east wing corridor which led into various classrooms and teacher's quarters. And another one, a door Minerva had never noticed before. She hastened towards it and pulled it open with a loud screeching sound.

She stepped inside.

The moment she was clear of the doorway, it swung shut, and sealed itself against the wall. Had Minerva not known better, she'd have sworn it had become a part of the wall. A loud wailing came from nowhere through the walls into the chamber. Now she wasn't so sure anymore.

Minerva sighed. _Honestly, Albus,_ she thought. _How can you expect me to do everything? I was once your student, and even then you set unbelievable tasks for me. Now, sixty years later, I am here, doing this, I even now I still do not know what I'm doing._

"_Lumos." _She said again. This time, a bright light did not burst out of the tip of the ebony wand she was clutching, only a feeble pinprick of light that sputtered feebly for a second, then went out. It was as though the wand sensed her despair and acted accordingly to it.

"_Lumos_." She said again, but more firmly. This time, it did not go out. Minerva set out along the corridor once again. It was dark, damp, and every bit as unfavorable as one could make it. Eventually, she passed a stretch of wall which bore a single tapestry. Disregarding this, she turned her back on it and made to walk further into the Labyrinth when she heard a slight scuffle and a muffled voice.

Her animagus instincts picked this up at once.

She extinguished her wand. The price of being seen by someone unsavory out-weighed her desire (and need) to be able to see. Slowly, she retreated backwards into the shadow, being careful not to be spotted by anyone. For an extra precaution, she cast a silent disillusionment charm on herself. She turned back to the direction of the tapestry, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Through the darkness, Minerva could make out three shapes, which stepped out from behind the tapestry. All three were doubled over, panting heavily. The tallest one recovered first. It stretched up and said: "D'you think we've escaped them?"

That voice; it was so bloody familiar…

Another voice replied: "Of course, Ronald. No-one could follow us through there. And besides, I stopped them, didn't I?"

That voice as well; A Girl. She spoke with a sort of bossy, I'm-right-you're-wrong tone. And she called the tall one 'Ronald'. Could it be…?

"Ron, we're safe. They're not going to follow us here. And besides, where is _here_?"

This one was a male, no doubt. The first one was a boy too. It could only mean one thing.

"You are in the East Wing, west corridor. It is forbidden. What are you doing here?" Minerva said in a quiet, low and mellow voice, trying to disguise as best she could the (now very distinct) Scottish lilt that would give her away immediately.

All three figures jumped. The second tallest raised his wand, and the two others followed suit. "Who are you and do you mean us any harm?"

_Yes. _Minerva thought. _That is definitely Potter, and his sidekicks, Granger and Weasley._

"I mean you no harm." Said Minerva. She purposely remained invisible so that if anyone was watching, she would remain undetected. (Also because she wanted to give Weasley and Granger a scare for scaring _her_ like that.)

"Declare yourself!" Potter demanded. Minerva kicked herself inwardly. _He's too much like James to let my identity slide. Fine then, _Minerva thought. _Let him see me then. See if I care._

"I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House, Transfigurations Professor and heir to the McGonagall Clan after Michael McGonagall, my brother." She said confidently, back in her own, strict, commanding voice, striding out of the dark corner she was hiding in. Simultaneously breaking the disillusionment charm rendering her visible and casting a _Lumos_ silently. She was holding her wand in an attack stance, threatening should any one of them turn their wands on her, things would get ugly. "And are you Harry James Potter, Son of James and Lily, heir to the Potter fortune, the Boy-who-lived aka, the _Chosen_ one?"

"Yep," he responded sheepishly, having raised his wand against her, his own professor. He looked back down at his wand and lowered it. "Sorry, Professor."

"That is quite alright," She responded stiffly. "Nothing wrong with being careful." She turned her wand upon the two figures, presumably Hermione and Ron. "Are you two Hermione Jean Granger, Daughter of Jean and John Granger and Ronald Billius Weasley, Son of Molly and Arthur?"

"Yes, Professor." The two of them said together, jumping slightly at the attention they were getting from her.

Minerva couldn't help it; She laughed.

**Sorry, I know this is a bit of a rubbish chapter. But I had to bring Harry, Ron and Hermione into it somehow, and this is what happened. Thank-you to **_**My Dear Professor McGonagall**_**, for reviewing so much and sticking with me, thank-you to everyone else that reviewed, subscribed and everything. I will keep updating as fast as I can, I promise. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING….**

**Yours Gratefully, **

**-Lyra**


	5. Erised, again

**Sorry for not updating for a few days. I have been trying to sort out the story and keep it interesting for you guys and also trying to make it longer (on Spin84's request.) **

**Thank-you again for reviewing, you guys are my incentive to keep on writing. Thank you to **_**Intelligence777**_**, who has helped me smooth out the bumps in this chapter and gave me a road map to where I should take this story. I'm hoping this chapter will be a little longer, but we'll have to see… Anyway, review faster for a longer and faster update!**

**Special thanks again to **_**Intelligence777, My dear Professor McGonagall **_**and**_** Refreshingly Original**_**. You guys are AWESOME! Anyway, I hope you guys will like it, and as always: Read, Review, but most importantly, ENJOY!**

**-Lyra**

"Well come on, then. We haven't got all night!" Minerva said, after recovering from her laughing fit. The three of them had stood in front of her; still from shock. Her speaking had roused them, and they were looking at her expectantly.

"Er… what? Why are you starring at me? Did I do something wrong?" Minerva asked, sounding a bit bewildered.

Her students blinked stupidly for a moment, as though trying to process what she was saying. Then they burst out laughing.

"Professor…" Harry gasped.

"You've done nothing wrong…" Hermione said, barely containing the tears of mirth that were streaming down her face.

"It's just that…" Ron began to explain…

"Your hair's undone!" They cried in unison, laughing their heads off. Ron was actually rolling on the floor, from side to side, actually _crying_ from laughter.

Minerva blinked. So what if her _hair_ was down from its customary bun. The way they were laughing, one would think she'd just appeared stark naked in front of them.

She laughed a little, unsure what she should be doing. In the end, she settled for glaring at them until they stopped laughing and stood up straighter. "Good. Well then, come on." she said briskly. She began to walk quickly in a random direction. It wasn't _her_ fault that the labyrinth was messing with her, normally acute, sense of direction.

Luckily, the trio caught the message that she wanted to move, and hastily got up and followed her. Ron and Harry managed to keep up with her brisk walk, but only just. Hermione was puffing along in the back, regretting all the times she had stayed inside studying while the others played Quidditch.

Minerva hastily slowed down so she could catch up.

"Professor, where are we going?"

Minerva looked around to her left. Sure enough, Ron Weasley was standing there with his hand up, as though he were just simply asking a question in class, not in some forbidden and empty part of the castle.

"Weasley, you'd better put your hand down. We're not in class. And since we're not," She looked at them sternly, but not unkindly, "You may call me Minerva."

"Min, Minerva?" Asked Harry.

"Yes, Potter. That is my name. What is it?"

"Where are we going?"

_Merlin, these teenagers. They are really starting to get on my nerves. _Minerva thought. Then suddenly, the realization hit her. _These_ were the other champions to help her find the stones?_ Oh Albus, why children? And worse of all, why Lily's son? Do you not understand the implications? The dangers? They could possibly die… Not that I would ever allow that to happen-_

"Minerva?" A voice said, breaking her from her thought line. "Professor?" said the same voice. It was Potter, looking at her anxiously. "Professor? Are you alright?"

"Wha? Yes, yes, I'm as fine as fine could be. And stop calling me 'Professor.' It gets on your nerves after a while."

"Yes Minerva," They all chorused. But Potter added: "If you call us Ron, Hermione and Harry."

Minerva peered over her spectacles and surveyed him, taking in every small detail. The gash on his cheek, his dirty clothes, his spello-taped glasses, James's unruly hair, Lily's bright and eager eyes… James had asked of her the same question after they had graduated and were leaving the grounds one last time. Of course, he had been accompanied by Sirius, Remus and Pettigrew, but that was besides the point. Lily had asked that too, when they had seen each other again in an Order meeting. Merlin, how the missed the pair of them…

"Very well, then, _Harry_," She said, putting emphasis on the 'Harry' part. "I have no idea where we are going alright? Yet, I _do_ know that we are looking for something. Four somethings."

At this, Hermione gasped. "You don't mean…"

"I do," Minerva added grimly. "The protection code."

"But," Now Hermione was in her element. "Isn't that really dangerous? There are rumors about Gryffindor having a dozen Graphorns guarding his stone, and who _knows_ what Slytherin could be packing…"

"Are we missing something important here?" Ron cut in.

"Honestly Ronald. Haven't you read _Hogwarts: A History_?" Hermione said, in her most bossy, know-it-all voice. It did the trick as Ron was immediately ticked off by the mention of the particular book.

"You know all very well that I didn't, Hermione." He said with a mock-pout. "I haven't found the time, being on the run and all…"

He never got to finish because Hermione had whacked him hard over the head with her small beaded bag.

"Blimey, Hermione!" Ron whined loudly. Harry snickered at his discomfort and Minerva was trying to suppress a grin. "What was that for?"

"That was for being an ignorant prat, Ron."

"Anyway, what's this about stones and protection codes?" Ron said absently, still rubbing the sore bit on the back of his head where Hermione had hit him.

"It's this protection spell. The founders are said to have created a charm to protect the school. They had it so that when these four stones are united, the charm would activate." Hermione said again, at top speed as though they were in class again.

"Excellent, Hermione. Ten points to Gryffindor." Minerva said. "While it might sound fairly simple, it is actually more complex than that. The founders had a stone each. They all agreed with each other, that should the stones ever need to come into play, they would retrieve it. And to keep them safe, they hid them in the east wing. There are many spells and enchantments I'm sure," She said peering over the top of her spectacles "To keep them from us. That is why this area is forbidden to any students." Minerva carefully left out the part about the final judgment when the stones united and possible death and mass destruction it might cause, should the spell not work.

But judging by Hermione's troubled expression, she knew about it too and was worrying over its consequences. Minerva gave Hermione a part warning, part pleading look. She didn't want to trouble the young Potter and Weasley until it was finally unavoidable.

Hermione seemed to agree with her and stayed silent.

"Well, professor, if we got to find these stones, then we should split up, to find them quicker, right?" said Ron slowly.

Hermione and Harry stared at him. "Ron," Hermione said slowly, "That must've been the first great idea you've ever had."

"Thanks," said Ron, totally living up the attention he was getting from Hermione. Then his face darkened with confusion. "Hey…"

"Ron's right, we have to split up. But why don't we go in pairs, so we've got one person to cover our backs." said Harry.

All of them nodded their heads in agreement to what he was saying. Ron hastily bagged Hermione, lest he should get teamed up with Minerva.

"Oh come on, Ron! Minerva's not _that_ bad, is she?" Hermione put her hands on her waist and glared threateningly at him. Ron cowered.

"Nice to know how you think of me." Minerva said quietly. Harry roared with laughter, and after a while, she and Hermione joined in. Ron was left standing there looking a _wee bit_ uncertain.

"Alright, Potter," Minerva said after recovering. "You're with me then, I suppose." Harry nodded. "Alright. Everybody send patronuses if you need help or you've found something, alright?"

"Yes, Minerva" they chorused. "Remember, we're looking for either an Emerald, a Sapphire, a Ruby or an amber stone, alright?"

Then Hermione and Ron left, taking the left passage, leaving Harry and Minerva to take the right.

After walking for what seemed like hours along the dark tunnel, Harry was beginning to worry. They didn't know where they were going for a start. Harry felt disconcerted by the fact that they seemed to be walking in circles. He was 99% positive that the lank stretch of wall they had passed minutes ago was the same one they had passed when they entered the passage.

When he pointed this out to Minerva, she firmly insisted that it was a completely different wall, and that he only thought it similar because all the walls looked the same. But on the sixth passing, she didn't sound so sure anymore.

"Oh _come on_." She whined. "Making it so the tunnels change? What kind of person does that?" Minerva had yelled in desperation.

"Mmm… but doesn't that sound familiar to you? Making tunnels change… Making _stairs_ change…"

"You think Rowena Ravenclaw's stone is somewhere near here then?"

"I don't think," Harry answered "I know."

"OK, so we've been walking past this bloody wall for the past half hour, what do you think we should do next, Einstein?"

"Well… maybe the wall plays a part in this. Let's see… _Bombarda Maxima_!" Harry cried.

With a cannon blast, the wall in front of them exploded with the force of a bomb. Through the dust and rubble, Harry heard Minerva coughing and retching for air. He himself was trying to breathe as well.

"Harry…" she croaked. "Give me your wand…"

He reluctantly passed it to her. She waved it around in the air and mumbled: "_Evansco_" so the air cleared itself of dust. Then she waved it again in a more intricate figure-of-eight pattern and the larger chunks of rubble left from the explosion zoomed to the sides of the remaining walls and cleared the centre of the hall.

"Well, that's one way to do it, Mr. Potter." She said handing him back his wand. She picked up her own which had been previously buried under a particularly large chunk. "But I think a simple _Reducto_ would have been sufficient."

The spell had left a large hole in the wall. Inside, there was a large spacious room. It was completely empty apart from a large ornate mirror. The ivory frame was intricately wrought, so the mirror was held, not by a sticking charm, but by the ivory vines clutching its sides. On the bottom, there were words carved into the base: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_.

Harry's eyes winded with shock. It couldn't be… Dumbledore and Flamel destroyed to mirror… But then how was it that the same mirror now stood exactly as it was six years ago? Harry couldn't afford to fall to its temptations again, but when he stared into it, he could see his mother waving, and his father nodding and smiling…

He ripped his eyes off the mirror at once.

"What is it?" Minerva asked, moving forward to look into the mirror. Did you find something-"

She gasped, and Harry could not blame her. After all, who could resist the mirror of the Erised?


	6. What Minerva saw and Slytherin's stone

_After all, who could resist the mirror of the Erised?_

Minerva herself couldn't believe what she was seeing. She saw herself, standing the transfigurations classroom and, _dare she believe it_? Her Mother and Father were standing next to her, waving and smiling, looking so happy and _alive. _Rosy cheeks and eyes gleaming merrily. And there was Albus, alive as well, Blue eyes twinkling madly, hands absently unwrapping one if those damned lemon drops that he loved so much…

Minerva slid onto the floor. Her eyes were glued to the shiny surface of the mirror. Harry's eyes widened. _Was this what I looked like in my first year?_ He asked himself. _Did I look like that? So hopeful, yet so sad at the same time?_

Minerva reached out to touch the glass. Her eyes never moving from the mirror. In fact, Harry didn't think she had blinked since she had sat down.

_Well, whatever she's seeing it must be good then._ He thought

And there was James and Lily, also smiling and waving. Now Minerva's attention turned back to her mother, who had started crying with happiness. Lily left James and went to her and began to pat her back soothingly. Minerva's mother stopped crying after a while. She looked up and saw Minerva's anxious face peering at her. She smiled reassuringly. Then she mouthed the words: _I love you_.

It was so real to Minerva that she could almost hear her mother actually saying it. Minerva smiled back and whispered. "I love you, too, màthair. I wish you could be here with me."

Her mother shook her head and looked grim. Now all of them were looking grim, even Albus, who almost never looked grim. At least when he was sucking on a Lemon Drop. They were all mouthing the same words at her: "Go, Minerva. You are needed elsewhere. You need to find the stones to protect Hogwarts..."

"Come on, Minerva. We have to find the stones... To save Hogwarts, remember? We got to find the stones..." Harry's voice penetrated the fog in her ears. "We have to go-"

"Save Hogwarts, right?"

"Yes," He sounded relieved that she had snapped out of it. "Come on… we have to go…"

"Wait, just wait. Five more minutes?" Minerva asked. She had turned back to the mirror to see her family, Albus, James and Lily waving and smiling like nothing had happened at all…

But Harry could see it; this was a trap. Anyone would want to see their deepest wish come true right in front of their eyes.

So he had to get Minerva away from the Mirror now, or she'd never leave.

"Minerva!" He cried "Minerva, get up!"

"Later, Harry." She mumbled. "In a minute…"

"No. You'll get up, NOW!" He yanked her to her feet and began dragging her away from the mirror.

"Harry!" She cried, biting and scratching at him, trying to get him to let her go. But it was to absolutely no avail because Harry kept a firm hold on her and continued to walk further and further away from the mirror as he possibly could.

When Harry had put enough difference between them and the mirror, he let go of Minerva. She immediately tried to run back to the mirror, but Harry said calmly "_Locomotor Mortis_."

With her legs being effectively immobilized, she fell to the floor, where she pushed herself into a sitting position.

She glared at him. "Potter," she ground out. "Let. Me. Go. NOW!"

"Not until you've calmed down and thought about this rationally. You cannot keep staring into that mirror, witches and wizards have wasted away in front of it. Please, Minerva," He said. "Look at me."

Minerva's dim green eyes stared into Harry's emerald green ones. Harry's eyes were much brighter than Minerva's, she realized. They were filled with hope and trust, and all those wonderful things that Minerva had long forgotten. Once, a long, long time ago, her own eyes had been just as bright, just as hopeful, and just as emerald. But as time passed, every blow of three wars had struck, those vibrant emerald eyes would dim, just a little bit, until gradually, the faded green was just an empty shadow of what it used to be.

Looking into Harry's eyes, Minerva realized she couldn't stay there, staring into a picture pining of her heart's desire when it was never going to come true, and that Harry was right – better witches and wizards had lost their lives in front of the mirror, trying to find their deepest, darkest dreams. This was a trap. And she was never going to let anyone else fall prey to it's clutches.

She raised her wand, pointed it at the mirror, and said, "_Diffindo!_"

***  
>Meanwhile, Hermione and Ron were trapped in a dark dungeon. They had been walking around the passages, looking for any sign of the stones when the floor had opened up beneath them and swallowed them into this chamber. Hermione was running her hands along the wall, muttering to herself. Ron had sat himself on the floor, back resting on the wall, head lolling pointlessly on his shoulder, eyes closed. Now he raised his head slightly and opened his eyes.<p>

"Give it up, Hermione. It's pointless. We're trapped here until someone comes and gets us the hell out of here."

"Well, would you rather sit here and rot? Or would you rather be outside, doing something _constructive_?" She snapped.

"Constructive." Ron admitted, just as Hermione exclaimed: "Found it!"

"Found what?" asked Ron

"The weak spot. Here-" She directed her wand at the said spot on the wall and said: "Reducto!"

The wall blew apart, leaving a respectable sized hole for them to crawl through. So that's what they did.

On the other side, it was a darker corridor with slime and Merlin-knows-what-else coating the walls. In fact it was looking less and less like a corridor at the moment. Actually, it was looking like a compound. _Compound? _Ron's eyes strained to see what was around him. It looked like a snake was coiled up at the foot of a marble pillar. Ron moved cautiously towards it, pointing his wand at the creature.

"Is the thing- is it dead?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know," Ron murmured. "Here-" he flicked his wand so the creature lifted itself up and slowly revolved in mid-air. "No, it's just a skin."

"Oh, good," Hermione said. "Actually, on second thoughts, _not_ good."

"Why?"

"Because whatever's in here must still be alive, if it sheds it's skin. And that means if this animal is a snake, then we're obviously very close to Slytherin's stone." She continued to explain. "_Accio Slytherin's stone_"

There was a loud rumbling and a stone pedestal rose out of the floor. The statue on it depicted a large white marble snake with emeralds for eyes sitting curled up on the pedestal. But that was not the best bit. The best bit was that, just visible under the serpents white coils was a large shimmering emerald. Slytherin's stone.

Ron walked to the pedestal. After a moment's hesitation, he put his hand on the stone and quickly withdrew it, as though burnt.

The serpent on the pedestal began to hiss…

"Not good!" Ron confirmed, looking, for the first time they entered the chamber, fearful. Hermione looked the same way too.

_To be continued…_

**Thank you again to everyone who reviewed, special thanks to Leannecloveryau for helping me with the mirror part and for editing my story, thank you to intelligence777 for the story idea, thank you to My dear Professor McGonagall and Refreshingly Original for reviewing so much. I'm sorry that this couldn't be any longer (I've got so much Homework) and I hope you'll all enjoy.**

**-Lyra**


	7. WHAT DO WE DO?

"AAAGGGHH WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO WE DO?" screamed Ron in desperation.

"Stop screaming and let me think!" shouted Hermione. "What is a snake's biggest fear?"

The snakes were now slithering off the pedestal, and slowly slithering towards them.

"I've got it!" said Ron.

"Then why didn't you say something?" said Hermione.

"Oh right, err…how do you make fire?"

"TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT AND GIVE IT TO ME!"

"What? D'you REALLY think this is the time, Hermione?"

"JUST GIVE IT TO ME!"

Ron reluctantly took his shirt off and handed it to Hermione. Hermione placed it so that the snake would slither right on to it. When the snake slithered onto the shirt and reared its head up high, poised ready to attack, she pointed her wand at the shirt and shouted, "INCENDIO!" The shirt went up in flames.

"How dare you! You burned my shirt!" shouted Ron.

"Would you rather lose your shirt or lose your life?" retorted Hermione.

"Well, at least you've sorted out your priorities now." Ron thought back to when he was still a first-year, when he, Neville, Hermione and Harry had met Fluffy, Hagrid's terrifying three-headed dog, and he remembered Hermione saying, _"We could've died, or worse, get expelled!"_

But the snakes were still coming towards them, and Hermione had nothing left to burn.

Upon shattering the mirror, Minerva felt like multiple, heavy weights had been lifted off her shoulders. For one, it had been horrible at first to see her parents', Albus's, Lily's and James's sad and terrified face looking at her before the mirror had shattered. In that split second where the mirror had still been whole, all the people in the mirror seemed to be asking her: Why? Why are you doing this? Don't you love us anymore?

Minerva had wanted to protest. To say she _did_ love them, and she'd give _anything_ for them to be here, with her…

But the moment had passed and the mirror had shattered into pieces that fell from their ivory stand and had smashed to even smaller pieces when they had made contact with the stone floor.

Minerva closed her eyes, and for the first time in months, allowed tears to flow down her face unchecked.

Harry was stunned. Here was Minerva McGonagall, invincible, strong and solid professor of transfiguration. The brave and fearless member of the Order of the Phoenix and most importantly, a loyal friend. _His_ loyal friend. Surely he should do _something_ to comfort her? _Anything_?

"Ummm… Minerva?" Harry began. He did not know what to say to comfort her- that was usually Hermione's job.

_Right._ Harry thought. _If I was Hermione, what would I do?_

Sudden inspiration took him. He conjured a handkerchief and walked to Minerva and began trying to dab her face dry.

If she thought this act was embarrassing, she didn't show it. She only sobbed harder.

Trying not to be put down by this, Harry continued to dry her face, until she mumbled: "I can do it, Harry. No need to worry about me…"

But Harry persisted in his comforting-campaign. He handed her the handkerchief, and she took it without a word. Then, to both of their surprise, he pulled her into a tight hug.

This act shocked Minerva for she had suddenly stopped shaking. She pushed Harry away and asked in a shocked tone: "Harry, what do you think you are doing?"

He smiled bravely, trying to mask his fast-sinking heart. He'd considered Minerva as a friend. And hugging a friend when they were upset was a natural thing for Harry. Perhaps Minerva hadn't thought of him as a friend, too?

"I'm comforting my friend." He said bravely, his Gryffindor side showing through.

Minerva's eyes widened even further, the whites around her emerald irises showing. She was really surprised.

_Oh no,_ Harry thought frantically. _Maybe she hadn't thought of me like a friend like I had! What should I do now?_

"Well, my friend need not worry about me." She said in a firm voice that, despite her tears, and she pulled him into a hug.

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO MY DEAR FRIEND, ELLIE, WHO'S BIRTHDAY IT IS TODAY! I take this chance to wish you a very happy birthday, with many more to come.**

**Thank you to Leannecloveryau, who has helped me MAJORLY with the plot. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed. I'm sorry for the wait, but I was a bit caught up with Homework and all. I'm also sorry for such a short chapter… but I've got so much to do.**

**-Lyra**


	8. Harry Should Learn How to Read Backwards

**Alright, I KNOW I haven't posted for AGES, and Leanne is typing this. (Leanne is my friend who is helping me with ideas and whatever for the story. She's awesome. :P She's two years older than me, which helps a lot when I make grammatical errors) (- Leanne wrote that. ) (She's still awesome though.) (- I wrote that) And, I know a lot of things, like that I type really slowly and whatnot, and that now I'm on summer vacation. I just came back from NYC, and I saw the Harry Potter Exhibition, which was absolutely amazingly awesome, and and and and…. I WENT TO THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER! OH MY FRIGGEN GODS! But I'm back now. :P**

**And now Leanne is bugging me to get started. So I'm getting started. :P**

Hermione and Ron were panicking.

And that was putting it lightly.

Ron was freaking out, and the fact he was half naked didn't help anything at all. Hermione was pointing her wand at each snake murmuring Petrificus Totalus. The snakes froze up, (which was good) but the bad news was that they just kept coming. It seemed that with each snake that was petrified, three more would make an appearance.

Hermione knew that eventually, she was going to tire out, and then they'd be in trouble. Ron had stopped hyperventilating so badly now, and was using his wand like Hermione was, freezing snakes. Hermione saw that he too, was suffering from exhaustion and intense fear. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow.

"There's got to be a way to stop them…." Hermione was saying "Maybe there's a spell that might… _Petrificus Totalus!_" She said swishing her wand at the nearest snake that was about to rear. It froze and stretched out, until it was as stiff and straight as a wooden ruler. It fell to the ground, immobile.

"Right…." Ron agreed. He was out of breath trying to dodge the snakes. His spell work wasn't as good as Hermione's, but it was adequate. He dodged the snake head to his right and got him with a quick stunner. "Why do there have to be so many bloody snakes?" He asked.

"Oh, Ron…" Hermione moaned "Now is not the time for complaining….. We have to figure out how to stop the snakes from coming and overwhelming us…."

"Oh! Why didn't you say that earlier?" Ron asked. "Hang on, I got it…. Just cover for me, Alright?"

"Yes, yes, now hurry! I can't last that long…."

But Ron had already left from the spot next to her. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, edging away from her, toward the pedestal where more snakes were slithering out of the larger snake's stone mouth.

Then Ron did the bravest, and most intelligent thing he had in his short life.

He picked up a larger piece of stone that had fallen when they were released into the compound. He raised it over his head, and rammed it right down the stone serpent's throat, sealing its mouth up.

The snakes vanished.

"Ron!" Hermione said. She dashed to him and gave him a hug. When she drew away, she punched him hard on the arm. "Don't ever do something like that again! Even though it was the bravest, most courageous, intelligent thing I'd-"

"Hermione," Ron said "You're embarrassing me…." He grinned, flashing his teeth, flicking his hair, like a certain teenage Muggle wannabe pop star.

Hermione got the joke and they both fell about laughing.

And they kept on laughing until the sound of cracking stone startled them. They turned. The noise was coming from the snake statue.

Hermione's blood turned to ice.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles above the Snake Chamber, two Gryffindors were pondering what to do next.

Harry wanted to keep moving to find the stones, because obviously, they were not there. But reality, he just wanted to put some distance between him and that mirror as fast as he could. While Minerva, wanted to stay in the chamber. She found the place oddly intriguing, and it tingled with a sort of magic to her. Truth be told, she was like Harry with an ulterior motive. It wasn't much; just that she wanted to stay in the room where she had seen Albus and her Parents again.

So while they were…. Ah, _discussing_ things, neither of them noticed the back wall. There was writing carving itself slowly, but surely into the smooth marble.

"We have to go, Minerva. This place isn't safe for us!"

"Harry, look. Can't we just stay for just ten more minutes Please?"

"No! Look, Minerva, This place isn't safe. And besides, we need to move on and find the stones, remember?"

"Harry…" Minerva couldn't find anything to retort with. She looked wildly around the room for one last excuse to stay….

She spotted the writing on the wall

Minerva's eyed widened in shock, and she froze where she stood. Harry stared at her. "Minerva," He said slowly "What…?"

Minerva shook her head frantically and jutted her chin towards the wall behind him.

He turned to look at where Minerva was indicating. As he did so, he stumbled on a loose pebble from the explosion. He did not fall, but his footing changed, so now he was standing on a different tile of marble from before.

The tile sunk down from his weight.

Harry quickly glanced up at the wall. It read:_ Kaepst' node vomt' nodk oolt' nod_

As Harry continued to stare, the letters had silently rearranged themselves until they were the right way round. It now said: _Don't look, don't move, don't speak._

Harry used the foulest swear word he would know, as the wall exploded and a gigantic bronze metal eagle crashed through the wall.


	9. Stupid Animal, Brave Animal

"Shit!" Harry rolled over to the left, just as a large bronze claw slammed onto the floor where he had been, only moments ago.

"Harry! Move!" Minerva cried. He dodged as the same claw took a swipe at him. He swiftly moved over to the right side of its head, and sent out sparks, which sparked against the Eagle's metallic skin.

Harry looked over at Minerva. Admittedly, she was holding up better than he was, and she was tackling the monster's feet. She was alternating between sending sparks at them, and trying to throw herself at them to knock it off. She apparently figured that once the legs had been put out of action, it was only a matter of time before the rest of it was dead too.

Harry's eyes snapped back to the eagle's head as it made to gouge his innards out. He swiftly sidestepped it, and used his wand to send sparks, which hit its eyes. The Eagle reared up and shrieked with shock and pain, consequently startling Minerva, but she caught on quickly. She moved over to where Harry was, and muttered "Keep its attention - I think things are going to get ugly now."

Harry nodded. And as soon as he did so, she moved herself away, and dodged out of sight behind its wings.

Harry turned his attention back to the eagle once more. It had reared its head and was preparing to strike. Harry sent a stream of hot sparks towards him, and it shocked him to see the eagle reach its great head out, open that vast mouth, and swallow them up.

It blinked for a couple seconds, and its eyes seemed shocked. Then the moment passed and it eyes filled with anger and hatred, and it tossed its head back and opened its mouth again, and….

Fire spewed out.

"Oh great, it can spit _fire_ now?" Harry moaned.

"Great going, Einstein." Came Minerva's sarcastic voice from somewhere behind the eagle, exactly where, he was not sure.

"How do you know about Einstein? He was a Muggle!" Harry yelled back, He dodged another jet of fire.

"He was a Muggle-born, Potter! Not all of us Purebloods believe all that blood nonsense. He was a very famous Muggle-born, apparently in both worlds." She called back. "Now shut up, and _distract it_!"

Harry did just that.

Eventually, Harry felt himself tiring, not unlike Hermione and Ron down in the snake chamber. He knew, like Hermione, that he wouldn't last forever, it was just too wearing. He pondered over calling to Minerva, but in the end, decided against it. He would have to keep working.

Just then, the eagle stopped. It just stopped completely. No fire, no claws, no slamming. The chamber was just quiet. Then he heard it:

"HI-YAH!"

The noise was a triumphant one; it was one Harry had not heard before, and he certainly could not even begin to imagine it's source. He turned to look back at the eagle, and he must have gotten one of the biggest shocks of his short life.

Minerva was sitting atop the eagle's back, riding it like a daring cow-girl might to a wild horse. She was holding reins in her hands, the long part muzzled on the Eagle's beak, constricted so it could not buck her off, but free enough so it could still move.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get on!" She commanded him.

Harry did as he was told, perhaps a little dazedly though; She was really a sight: Raven-black hair falling freely to her waist, torn robes, deep gash on one cheek, blood staining her skin red and pink, and also the mere fact of _the_ strict Transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall, riding a 14 foot metal eagle would shell-shock anyone.

McGonagall raised her arms, and whipped the reins again, "HI-YAH!" and the eagle seemed to get the message, as it spread its enormous wings out, and gave them an experimental flap. Deeming them safe, it flapped them once more and rose slowly, but surely into the air.

Harry couldn't stop himself. "Wooo-hoooo!" He whooped with exhilaration. The Eagle crashed through another wall, but it didn't seem bothered. It soared higher and higher, and Harry was sure it would run out of space in the dark twisting tunnels, but it never seemed to.

Presently, it flew into a series of more tunnels, each narrower and more confusing than the last. As the tunnels before, they seemed to be changing themselves to confuse the person navigating them, but the Eagle seemed to know what it was doing. Harry was, for the first time, grateful that they had run into it, otherwise he was sure they would be lost in the East wing forever more.

The tunnels were so cramped; the Eagle flew right into a wall. Harry wasn't concerned at first, he was certain the eagle would burst right through it, or it would just nudge the wall, either one. But Harry never expected the floor and walls to collapse on them.

And it did.

Harry, Minerva and the eagle fell around what felt to Harry, ten thousand miles down into the bowels of the school.

When they finally landed, Harry was only amazed they had no broken bones, or seriously injured bodies. The worst that happened to them was a few bumps and bruises here and there, along with Minerva's slashed cheek.

"Cushioning charm," Minerva said bluntly, answering Harry's question. "And also I don't think we got the worst of it." She gestured sadly at the Eagle. It was battered and broken, and the intelligent and lively glow in its eyes was slowly dimming, until they were just orbs of cracked glass. It's wings and limbs were bent and twisted, it's head had dislocated from its neck, and were only hanging on by a few strands of glistening silvery-blue substance.

Harry leaned down and prodded it with his wand, and looked questioningly at Minerva.

"Memory," She answered "Very well made, must've lasted centuries. In my opinion, this was one of Rowena Ravenclaw's best works." Minerva smiled wryly at Harry. She drew her own wand, and touched the swirling substance, neither liquid nor gas. She pulled the wand up, at the same time pulling a vial from her robe pocket and dispensing the memory in it.

Harry looked questioningly at Minerva, but she only shushed him and gestured that he should watch.

McGonagall reached to touch the Eagle's glassy eyes. She caressed them with her long, elegant fingers, and finally, she pushed one in, so it sunk down into its socket.

The Eagle's mouth popped opened and a shining blue orb was revealed. It was held into place by some thin copper strips entwined so it held it into place.

"Is this…?" Harry began. It was unnecessary, they both knew what it was.

"Yes, this is it. Ravenclaw's stone." She answered curtly. Minerva quickly cast a releasing charm and stowed it away in her pocket.

She motioned for him to stand up. "We finish the rest of our journey on foot, I'm afraid."

Harry nodded and stood, and they continued to walk.

The atmosphere here was quite different from the one in the Chamber they had just left. For a start, this one was darker and dirtier, and there seemed to be some sort of greenish slime on the walls. It had the air of depression and fear around it.

"Do you hear that?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Hear what?" Minerva asked. She cocked her head slightly.

"Crying…." Harry muttered. "I hear someone crying…"

"Oh…. I hear it too, now," Minerva muttered. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "Do you smell blood?"

"What?" Harry was alarmed now. What if something had happened to Ron or Hermione? He would never be able to forgive himself if they were hurt in any way at all.

"It from here…" Minerva said. She traced the wall, ignoring the slime coming off and onto her finger. "Stand back." She commanded.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Just do it." She snapped.

Harry did so.

"_Reducto_!" Minerva cried.

The wall blasted apart like in the Mirror room high above them. Fortunately, the explosion was controlled, and Minerva and Harry were perfectly unscathed.

Harry and Minerva stepped into the chamber beyond. And what they saw there was so horrible, none of them would forget to their dying day.

Hermione was clutching Ron's body, which had blood running freely down his side from two deep puncture marks on his neck. Hermione was crying, and Ron was not moving.

Harry's world crashed around him as he came to the horrible truth.

It simply could not be possible.

Ron could not be dead.

**Leanne's note: One thing you're really good at, Elaine, is you are amazing at endings. And yes, people, her name is Elaine.**

**Elaine's note: I hate you, not really…. But you're still awesome!**

**Another thing: I am trying to advertise a RPG site, called **_**Rebellion**_**. **_**Rebellion**_** is a Harry Potter RPG site, (RPG mean Role Playing Game) and I would really appreciate it if you guys would come join us there. The link is on my Author Page! :D**


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